"Rich blessings are in store; If I but learn to do his will, I 'll live with him once more."

Hi all,

We just returned from our New England vacation with Brittany's family and so sending this out a little late.

Dawn

October 14, 2013

 

Hiiiiiiiiiii everyone!!!!!

How are you all?! Just know how much I love each of you and how happy I am!

Last Monday was just a rough day until after we emailed. We ate some deliciously magical grapes and within 20 minutes, Sister Perry and I had so much energy and felt so much better. But really, we both looked at each other and could just tell that it was all the people we had emailed. We could feel the strength from your prayers literally. It was very special and very much appreciated. Thanks so much! Keep praying. Love you!

Sister Perry had her first bad bug experience in our apartment. I was on the phone when she literally jumped 4 feet out of the bathroom screaming, hahaha. There was another GIANT cockroach in our bathtub. (Just want to clarify that we don't have ants or normal cockroaches because of food. We just get the giant cockroaches from the plumbing we think and the ants because we live in a giant ant hill. And the spiders are just unavoidable.) Anyways, we filmed it's massacre. We used three cans of raid and there are plenty of screams for you to enjoy. Can't lie, it is a hilarious video. But you'll just have to wait until I get home to see it, because Mom is still working on getting pictures on the blog, let alone a video, hahaha. But I'm super grateful she updates this for me every week! Thanks Mom!!

We had our monthly mission leadership council thing this week with all the zone leaders and sister training leaders this week. We talked a lot about simplifying and de-cluttering our lives, so we can just focus on working and the Spirit. AKA we're getting rid of a lot of meetings and interviews and stuff, and I could not be happier.

We have been focusing on changing our teachings like Elder Richards asked the mission to a few weeks ago. It has been super hard, but super effective. We just state short simple truths, ask more questions, and listen more. Ah, I can't really describe it well, because if you would've told me this a month ago, I would've said I'm doing just that, haha. Someone said in MLC "we need to stop acting like we're trying to convince people. We don't have to convince anyone." Hit home with me. We don't have to convince anyone of anything! Truth is truth. The Spirit's job is to testify of that truth, so we just shouldn't get in the way of His job. Everything we say has to be 100% true for the Spirit to be there, so our analogies or object lessons or opinions get in the way. We can state truth, ask questions, and testify. Anyway, it's changed my teaching and my life. We taught a member's friend the Restoration this week (Kayla) with this mindset this week and it was one of the best lessons I've ever taught. She said "I was just mesmerized by that boy's story" (referring to Joseph Smith's First Vision) "and I just feel like I really need to find out if that's true." It was a happy moment.

We have obviously been working on finding our little young single adults who are ready. We're basically focusing on three areas...
1. through less actives. 2. through street contacting (like Elder Perry said in general conference, if you want to teach more people, you need to talk with more people) 3. through members

No one has ever worked with the west half of our area/stake (Huntington Park, Vernon, South Los Angeles, South Gate, etc). So we spent a few hours the past few days mapping out where all of our less actives in those areas (like 300 of em) into quadrants. SO! This week we're going to just go to a quadrant or two and see everyone and talk to as many people as possible in between of course. I don't know if that makes any sense, but it means we'll be doing more walking and less driving! So yay! Also, I'm excited to work in those cities. No offense to my cities of Downey and Bell Gardens, haha.

Our members are doing great. We're going to go on splits more and try to visit all of them with this cute little magnet thing we're going to make. The magnet list thing will have the three categories that Elder Perry has asked everyone to pray for EACH DAY:

1. The Missionaries and Investigators in your ward
(then we'll have lines under to put our names)

2. Opportunities to share the gospel each day

(write down specific places you'll be i.e. friend's party, school, work meeting, etc.---the more specific our prayers are, the more specific His answers will be)

3. Find at least one friend to meet with the missionaries by December
(list of friends to invite this week to meet with the missionaries)

Sister Perry finally got to meet everyone at the ol' branch this week! Hilarious as always. Just full of characters. But they've come a long way, I'm so proud of them :)

We found someone from North Carolina with a southern accent this week named Sarah. It was a huge tender mercy for us West Virginians, hahaha.

I can't believe I hit my 9-month mark! Ah! So weird. Obvi, I took a hilarious picture. IT RAINED THAT DAY. I almost cried from joy. I have prayed for rain like everyday I've been in L.A., haha. It has actually got kinda cold this week. Like I wear my sweatshirt every night. Like it's in the high 60s. Aka, people pull out their parkas here. Aka scarf season! Super happy.

Oh. Friday was a tumultuous day. We were on our way out the door to our first exchange (so we had Sister Perry's suitcase and pillow and stuf)f. I closed the main door before the screen door and then screamed. I realized I locked the keys to the apartment and to the car inside the apartment. #THEWORST. Our manager was like an hour away, so the zone leaders had to take us alllll the way to the mission home to get the spare key and back. But! When God closes one door (and locks it -_-), He opens another!! We left her stuff at our neighbor's house and went to see some people in the quadrant (obvi, quadrant has become one of my new favorite words) we live in. God plopped three new investigators and 4 referrals for the Spanish elders in our path in 45 minutes! It was super happy.

This week we have 4 exchanges back to back, so it will be nuts and I will barely see my companion, haha. But we're excited and it should be good! Miracles and the craziest things always happen on exchanges so I'll keep you posted.

One last thing from exchanges. The sister I was with told me an experience I thought I'd share. A man on the street started yelling at them and criticizing them. "How could your church teach so much about families and then rip you all away from your own parents with such little communication for such a long time? Isn't it a commandment to honor thy father and mother?" To which Sister Zollinger replied "I have never felt like I honored my parents more than when I have been here on my mission."

I feel the exact same way. I have so many imperfections and things to improve, but I can confidently say that I am trying my best to serve the Lord and to let Him shape me. It has brought me so much joy, and I hope it is bringing you all that joy as well.
Rely on Savior. He's got your back :)

MAKE IT THE GREATEST WEEK YET! LOVE YOU ALL!

Sister Atkinson